Ancient One (Earth-199999) (Marvel Series)
The Ancient One was the Sorcerer Supreme as well as the leader of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. For centuries, the Ancient One protected Earth from mystical threats, and dedicated herself to helping others in need by educating them in the magical arts to give them new hope. However, later on, she was challenged by a former student, Kaecilius, who had become corrupted by the Dark Dimension and sought to bring Dormammu to Earth. In the midst of her war against Kaecilius and his Zealots, the Ancient One encountered Doctor Strange and, despite her initial reluctance, was persuaded to accept him as her student by Karl Mordo. During one final battle, the Ancient One was fatally wounded and despite the best efforts of Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer, she accepted her fate and died, but not before giving Doctor Strange the advice he needed to defeat Dormammu as well as to find his new purpose in life as a master. Personality According to Karl Mordo, the Ancient One is "steadfast, but unpredictable; merciless, yet kind." This is shown when she was willing to kill multiple Zealots in combat and initially refuse to help Stephen Strange when he first came to Kamar-Tajdue to his arrogance, though she did so for the sake of protecting the world from the rogue sorcerers and to ensure that other sorcerers did not become like Kaecilius and his followers. While she enforced rules on the Masters of the Mystic Arts against breaking the laws of nature or using their power for god-like feats, such as manipulating time or becoming immune to death, she was willing to break her own rules to continue to personally ensure that they were followed and that the world was safe, though she never wanted to do so. This led her to draw power from the Dark Dimension to become immortal, an act which she herself forbade. Since Doctor Strange was similar to her in her breaking the laws of nature to save the world, she believed that he and Mordo, the latter of which was completely devoted to following her rules, would need to balance each other out in order for them to protect the world when she died. Stemming from her flexible moral principles, she allowed Doctor Strange to break several rules when they inhibited his ability to learn such as allowing him to create gateways to borrow books Wong denied him Doctor Strange access to and even showed him the Mirror Dimension to even further hasten his learning and allow him to practice dangerous spells without fear of harming anyone. Whenever she drew power from the Dark Dimension, especially to increase her powers in the Mirror Dimension, she wore a hood over her head to conceal the mark on her forehead that signifies her connection to the Dark Dimension, showing that she was still ashamed of her actions. In her shame, however, she would maintain a proud stance, such as calmly threatening Strange when he revealed that she drew power from the Dark Dimension in front of Mordo. Despite this pride, she was willing to rise above it to save Mordo and Strange from the Zealots in the Mirror Dimension, revealing her connection to the Dark Dimension in the process. Even when doing so cost the Ancient One her life, she humbly accepted her death, though she briefly astral projected to watch the snow with Strange to gain more time before her passing. Biography Sorcerer Supreme Training Masters The Ancient One was the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme who had defended Earth from mystical threats for millenniums. According to Karl Mordo, no one knew her exact age, and she never spoke of her own past, though it was still revealed that she was of Celtic descent. Apart from her responsibilities as the mystical defender of Earth, the Ancient One was also dedicated to helping others in need, especially those who were paralyzed, heartbroken from loss of loved ones, or suffering from ailments believed to be incurable. Whether by coincidence, by luck, or by their own intentions, if they managed to reach Kamar-Taj, she would tutor them in the arts of sorcery, which in turn could either cure them of their supposedly incurable ailments, or enable them to find inner peace as well as to develop a better understanding of the natural laws. Examples of such individuals would be Jonathan Pangborn, who was cured of his paralysis through magic, and Karl Mordo, who claimed that the Ancient One gave him the power to defeat his demons and to live within the natural law. Fighting Dragon Raiders The Ancient One was walking at the training ground of Kamar-Taj. Observing the novices who came to this place to seek enlightening. The Sorcerer Supreme helps them understand and guides them to protect something greater while keeping them at the side of the light. A group of Chinese bandits are facing a Master of the Mystic Arts Karl Mordo and the Ancient One then fires a dangerously looking Arrow at the Ancient one. Meanwhile, with the inhabitants killed, a old man's house is searched by the Dragon Raiders bandits. They find the Arrow they were looking for and put it to the test at a Chinese village in Guizhou. They approach a group of villagers and just by holding the Arrow, the leader of the bandits is able to blow up a few houses of the villagers. With this demonstration, the bandits demand payments and the allegiances of the villagers. To maintain her own balance, the Ancient One performs ceremonial steps to achieve harmony. By doing so, she is able to get some peace until she is disturbed by Mordo who has discovered that the Bow and Arrow of Apollon has fallen in the hands of the Dragon Raiders. These relics could be devastating in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to wield it. Mordo and the Ancient One approach Jiãó ào Zhànshì, the leader of the Dragon Raiders, and try to make him understand his limitation in its practice of the Bow. However, Jiãó shoots the Arrow of Apollon directly at the Sorcerer Supreme. But with her knowledge in the Arts of the Mystic she is able to block and divert the arrow upwards. Although taken aback that the Arrow was blocked, the bandits start to attack. Only to find out that they are no match against a Master and Sorcerer Supreme of the Mystic Arts. Back at Kamar-Taj, the Bow and Arrow of Apollon are both safely stored away and guarded under the protection by the Ancient One. Theft of the Book of Cagliostro However, the Ancient One's healing methods were not always effective: Kaecilius, one of her most gifted students in the mystic arts, did not manage to recover from his emotional wounds, and later on he discovered the secret of her drawing power from the Dark Dimension to preserve her immortality. Given how the Ancient One had forbidden others from doing the exact same thing, Kaecilius viewed this hypocrisy as an act of ultimate betrayal and, besides losing all faith in her, decided to gather his own group of followers to carry out his own nefarious plans for the entire world. Stealing a forbidden spell from the Book of Cagliostro, he fled with his Zealots to London, where they ran down the streets hoping to get away from the Sorcerer Supreme. However, the Ancient One managed to drag Kaecilius and his Zealots into the Mirror Dimension, and expertly fought them by channeling magic through her Tao Mandalas. Through her Tao Mandalas and her ability to manipulate reality, she successfully killed many of the Zealots, but Kaecilius and a few others managed to escape. Meeting The Skeptic Introducing the Mystic Arts One day Karl Mordo brought Doctor Stephen Strange to the Ancient One at Kamar-Taj as the latter hoped she could mend his damaged hands, with Strange at first mistaking Hamir for the Ancient One due to his preconceived ideas. As she poured him a cup of tea, the Ancient One told Strange to expand his mind but Strange remained stubbornly skeptical. When Strange accused the Ancient One of being a liar, she pushed his Astral Form out of his body and then returned it. While Strange was dazed and confused from the brief but startling experience, the Ancient then sent his consciousness through several dimensions and realities, showing him terrifying images including sights of the Dark Dimension. She then sarcastically asked if he could find that in a gift shop. Strange begged her to teach him but she refused as his arrogance and headstrong attitude reminded her of Kaecilius. Mordo convinced her that Strange could be of use to them in fighting Kaecilius and she eventually let him study magic. Training Doctor Strange The Ancient One showed Doctor Strange how spells work, using her Sling Ring to create images and shields from thin air made of pure energy. When Strange questioned how he could possibly do the things she could do, she responded by questioning how he had become a successful doctor, when Strange explained it had taken years of practice to reach an advanced level the Ancient One told him it was the exact same concept. Having witnessed his difficulty in using magic, she promptly abandoned him on the top Mount Everest as an encouragement for him to finally work out how to wield his Sling Ring. Seeing this test, Karl Mordo declared "not again" suggesting that she had used this method of 'encouragement' before to varying success. Strange succeeded in returning Kamar-Taj again only to rapidly progress in magic so much that he found it difficult to work in the conditions offered. To help, the Ancient One offered him the Mirror Dimension where he could train without affecting the Physical World. Battle of the Mirror Dimension Once Doctor Strange managed to stop the Zealots from destroying the New York Sanctum, the Ancient One offered him the title of 'Master' and a position as Protector of the New York Sanctum, as Daniel Drumm had been killed by Kaecilius. Strange refused and alluded to her drawing power from the Dark Dimension, which she did not deny, in order to fuel her immortality. She warned him to choose his next words carefully before leaving. During the second attack on the Sanctum, the Ancient One saved Strange and Karl Mordo from the Zealots and fought them herself. She also confirmed that she did draw her power from the Dark Dimension when the symbol appeared on her forehead. During the fight she used her Tao Mandalas to duel and managed to briefly dominate the Zealots, easily dodging an attack from one of the Zealots and knocking him down swiftly and quickly engaging another Zealot and Kaecillus simultaneously before separating them by knocking down the Zealot and then dueled with and blasted Kaecillus away by countering his attempts to warp space using her own powers. However, as she was winning against the two Zealots, Kaecillus caught her off guard and fatally stabbed both her and the Zealot she was fighting against with his Space Shard and Kaecillus then threw her hundreds of stories back to the Physical World ground below. Accepting Death As Doctor Strange rushed her to Metro-General Hospital, where he and Christine Palmer operated on her, the Ancient One left her physical form and went out onto a balcony, prompting Doctor Strange's astral form to follow. Once outside, she confessed to Strange that she had always known the exact moment of her death, and though she had only been able to foresee the possibilities of his future, she did know what kept him from true greatness: his inability to learn that the world did not revolve solely around him. The Ancient One went on to explain that Strange, like Jonathan Pangborn, also had a choice through his newly-acquired magical powers - he could have his hands restored to their former healthy state and regain his old life, or he could serve something greater than himself. She also confessed that she had always hated drawing power from the Dark Dimension, but she still did so to ensure that she was able to protect the world, and that he too would have to bend the rules for the greater good. Despite agreeing with Strange's assessment that Karl Mordo would fail to understand her perspective, the Ancient One still told him that he needed Mordo's rule-abiding nature, just as Mordo needed his flexibility, for it was only through their cooperation could Dormammu be stopped. When Strange argued that he was not ready, she told him that no one was ever ready, and took his hand in hers. With a final piece of advice to him regarding treasuring his time, as well as acknowledging her own fallibility, despite the centuries she had lived, she was also not ready for death, and was actually using magic through her astral form to manipulate time so she could watch the snowfall one last time. The Ancient One released Strange's hand and then vanished from the Astral Plane, signifying her death despite Christine Palmer and Nicodemus West's best efforts to save her. Relationships Allies * Masters of the Mystic Arts - Disciples ** Karl Mordo ** Wong ** Daniel Drumm † ** Master Minoru ** Sol Rama † ** Hamir ** Doctor Strange † ** Kamar-Taj Librarian † * Christine Palmer * Nicodemus West * Jonathan Pangborn - Former Disciple Enemies * Dragon Raiders ** Jiãó ào Zhànshì * Zealots ** Kaecilius - Former Disciple turned Killer ** Lucian † ** Brunette Zealot ** Blonde Zealot ** Tall Zealot † ** Nervous Zealot † * Dormammu Trivia * In the comics, the Ancient One was an ancient Tibetan magician named Yao, and the previous holder of the title of Sorcerer Supreme. He transcended into the spiritual plane after his death, becoming a minor cosmic entity. * The mark that forms on the Ancient One's forehead and her ageless life are both references to the comics, as both the Ancient One and Doctor Strange passed a test of the entity Death, earning them an ageless life, and an ankh-shaped mark on their foreheads only appeared when their lives were in dire jeopardy. Category:Marvel